Gyutan (牛タン)
The word is a combination of the Japanese word gyu meaning cow and the borrowed then adapted English word tan, or tongue.
Cow tongue is not traditional, nor does it sound appealing for those without such foods in their home countries.
Nevertheless, thanks to its interesting history, exotic cooking options, and attractive taste (I promise!), the food has become the definitive food of the entire city of Sendai.
Gyutan has its origins in postwar Japan.
Keishiro Sano, a yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant owner, figured he could save money and make a new type of cuisine in the process by using the cow tongues and tails discarded by US occupation forces.
Mr. Sano had to make trips to neighboring Yamagata Prefecture to find ingredients from local butchers immediately after the war.
He chose cow tongue after being introduced to the often overlooked ingredient from a French chef. The result, of course, was gyutan.
He opened up Aji Tasuke to sell his new creation in 1948.
To this day it is still considered an excellent choice for gyutan dining. The restaurant serves beef tongue in the standard style you will find at most gyutan restaurants: grilled over charcoal, with a side dish of barley rice and ox tail soup. The citizens of Sendai also thought it was a strange food at first, but they tried it and quickly got hooked.
As Sendai is a city with many company branch offices, many people have work transfers and take business trips in and out of the city. Through word of mouth people all over Japan came to know about Sendai’s most famous food.
So how does gyutan taste? Overall you could expect a lightly salted or tare-tickled grilled beef tongue to be somewhat chewy, with a slightly scorched exterior to bring out the charcoal seasoning. A perfectly cooked piece of gyutan is tender with juicy flavors inside every bite. It doesn’t taste too different from other types of grilled beef and depending on the way it is cut and served, gyutan may look nothing like tongue at all.